Carding device for artificial teeth



J n- 15, 935- M. CHAREN 1,987,602

CARDING DEVICE FOR ARTIFICIAL TEETH Filed July 231 1951 I N VEN TOR. M V57? 6 ///7A.'N, A

Patented Jan. 15, 1935 i UNITED isrA CA D I NG DEVICE FOR 'ABTIFIom-rmrEErH-ji Myer Charen, PhiladelphiaQI 'a "assignor to Uni-i versal Dental Company,- -Philadelphia, Pa.', a

corporation of Pennsylvania Application J l 23, 1931, Serial No. 552.5%1, I remain. (o1. o 1c This is a continuation in part of my application Serial No. 478,009, filed in the U. S. Patent Office under date of August 27, 1930, which on May 10, 1932 matured into Patent No. 1,857,999.

..5 This invention relates particularly to stock cards upon which artificial teeth are mounted and transported by the manufacturer to the dealer for sale to- .the dentist. v

It is well known .to those familiar with the manufacture and sale of artificial teeth that it is necessary that the dealer carry in stock various sizes, forms, and shades of teeth, and that in order that it may be convenient for the dentist to select the particular size, form, and shade of teeth desired, it is customary to mount a number ofteeth having the same characteristics, or'teeth of a set, upon cards or panels of suitable form and material', from which they may be withdrawn by the dealer as selected by the dentist, and replaced by new stock from the manufacturer.

It is well known in carding devices to'provide in fixed relation to the mounting card or panel a plurality of individual .tangs or tongues spaced apart and forming a permanent part of the base and to stamp, impress, or otherwise mark the card or panel with symbols or indicia denoting-the grade, color, and thelike of. the teeth applied to such permanent supporting devices, thus limiting the carding device to a particular grade of teeth.

It may be said to be the leading object of the present invention to overcome this limitation by providing a carding device with interchangeable means whereby not only entire groups or sets of teeth may be readily applied to or removed from the card or panel but the symbols and identifying indicia may be also readily interchanged, thus greatly enlarging the field of usefulness of the carding device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an efficient and relatively inexpensive mounting card or panel equipped with a removable group of supporting tangs or tongues by which the artificial teeth are not only firmly held but 45 from which the same may be readily disengaged, either singly or as a group, without scratching or otherwise marring of the face of the mounting card or panel.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a carding device of the character stated in which a group of pendant tangs or tongues are formed integral with an interchangeable slide capable of endwise movement through the card or panel, whereby the spacing of or change of grade of teeth may be varied as desired without change of the card or panel per se,'thus adding to the usefulness of the device. I "A still further object of the present-invention is to providea carding device of the character stated having a cardor panel of wood, rubber, or other non-metallic material grooved to. receive a strip of metal having stamped therefromagroup of pendant tangs or tongues to engage and sup porttooth facings having a varying'range 'of size andform im A still further objector the present invention is to provide for a carding device a removable, elongated,- metal strip'having" struck out there from a plurality of pendant tangs or tongues so shaped and proportioned that each constitutes a bowed, spring-like member for exercising constant pressureupon' artificial teeth supported thereon which may vary in range of size and form. "Other and furtherobjects of the presentinvention reside inthe provision of general details of construction'and in the arrangement, combination, and connection of parts for attaining the results sought'by the-foregoing-objects.

The invention consists of the novel construction hereinafter described and finally'claimed.

The nature,characteri stic features and scope of the invention will be more fully understood from the' following description taken in conneca tion with the accompanying drawing, forming part hereof, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of a carding device embodying the invention and illustrating one of the identifying symbols in detached position;

Fig. 2 is a view in cross-section taken upon the line 22 of Fig. 1; i

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of a carding device illustrating a slightly modified form of identifying symbol;

Fig. 4 is a view in cross-section taken upon the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; I

Fig. 5 is a view in perspective of a carding device embodying a further modified form of identifying symbol;

Fig. 6 is a view in cross-section taken upon the line 6-6 of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view in front elevation of the tooth rack detached.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention I have shown in the accompanying drawing forms thereof which are at present preferred by me, since the same has been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, although it is to be understood that the various instrumentalities of which my invention consists can be variously arranged and organized and'that my invention is not limited to the precise arrangement and organization of the instrumentalities as herein shown and described.

Referring to the drawing detail, the reference numeral 10 designates a card or panel of rectangular configuration and made of wood, fibre, rubber, or other non-metallic material. Adjacent its bottom .and paralleling the -lower edge thereof upon its front iface is arranged a longitudinal slot or groove 11 which extends from end to end of the board or panel and has open ends. The slot or groove 11 is undercut at 12, top and bottom, throughout its'lengthto-provide a track for slidably receiving an elongated thin metal artificial tooth holding bar 12 having stamped therefrom a plurality of aligned, pendant, bowed spring tangs or prongs 13 which are preferably spaced an equal distance apart and extend throughout the length of the bar. Each tang or prong 13 at its place of connection with the .bar 12 .has a fillet .14 upon opposite sides .0! a tang or tongue 13 so that strengthmayibeprovided where the tangs are bent outwardly from the bar 12. If the tangsor prongs were so stampedthatthe prongs must be bent outwardly at a sharp angle with respect to the bar :12, .the tendency to readily'fracturetheconnecting parts would occur. Again, the ,fillets provide space betweenthe outer face of the bar .12 andtheup: per parts of the tangs or prongs to permit the grooves in the lingual faces of artificial teeth 15 to be pushed freely-upwardly so that the bottoms of the teeth grooves areprevented fromjamming against the pointed ends of the tangs or prongs 13. The tangs are each 'bowed for resiliency,-are generally pointed,.and extend an appreciable :distance inadvance of the front faceof the.card or panel 10. Thus, the facings l may be readily attached to the tangs 13 and are firmly held thereby so as to be removably inserted-or removed asa continuous line of teeth with respect to=the card or panel by reason of the bar =12. Thus, the teeth may be individually -changed as to grade, shade, and color, or an entire lineof facings may be interchangedas is readily apparent.

The upper portion of the face of the card or panel 10 is provided adjacent the corners thereof with slotted openings 16 which are undercut to provide upper and lower grooves 17,, to removably receive slides 18 of paper, celluloid, or the like, see Fig. 1, said slides bearing symbols or indicia employed to identify the particular facings carded as to grade, color, shade, or the like. Since the slides 18 may be readily removed and inserted through the open ends of the openings 16, the slides may be interchanged at will to identify various facings as they maybe-changed upon the card or panel, thus adding to .the usefulness of the device.

Referring now to Figs. 3 and 4, in lieu of having the slotted openings arranged horizontally at the-ends of themember 10, openings 19 are pro- .vided which are vertically arranged and extend from the top of the panel and terminate intervided for detachably engaging the undercut portion of the openings 19, the tops of said slides being straight with the undersides of said slides being arranged-upon arcs .of circles inorder to conform with the .shapeof the openings 19.

Referring now to Figs. .5 and 6, the panel 10 is provided adjacent each end thereof with circular openings 22 which are also undercut. Arranged for detachable insertion within these openings22 .arediscs 23 bearing symbols or indicia employed to identify the particular facings carded, as before described, and these discs in practice are merely snapped .to place in the openings 22.

What is claimed is: i

As a new article of manufacture, an elongated, relatively thin, integral, non-metallic, block-like unit of uniform cross section throughout its extent having arranged in alignment at its opposite ends horizontally arranged elongated slots, the axes of which parallel the longitudinal axis of said unit to receive identification tabs, the inner portion of each slot being closed upon a curved line and-the .outer open portion of each slot being in the same plane with "the vertical ends of said block-like unit, and elongated thin flat tabs, each tab having a curved inner end the longitudinal axes of said tabs paralleling the longitudinal axes of said slots, said tabs each being detachably fitted for free removal at all times fromsaid slot.

MYER CHAREN. 

